The Necklace of God (1 Peter 1:3-5)

Mercy, Hope, Inheritance, God's Power, Faith, and Salvation are the words used by Peter at the beginning of his letter to the churches in Asia Minor. He uses these words and is drawn to worship because of them. He treats these words like a quarry and draws his listeners to begin mining from the riches of God that he has lavished on us. I am encouraged greatly by the words of Spurgeon who reflected on the great mines of 1 Peter 1:3-5:

In these three verses we have a string of pearls, a necklace of diamonds, a cabinet of jewels—no, the comparisons are poor—we have something far better than all the riches of the earth can ever typify. You have here the heritage of the chosen of God. Your heritage, Beloved, your own peculiar portion if you belong to Christ this day. ~ Charles Spurgeon

The Power of One

“The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And the Lord was sorry that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart. So the Lord said, “I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land, man and animals and creeping things and birds of the heavens, for I am sorry that I have made them.” But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord.” ~ Genesis 6:5-8

These words end the first unit of thought in Genesis. It begins with Adam and ends with Noah. I think Moses wanted the people to know that there would always be one person, always be one hope, always be one provided who would be there to communicate with God for the people.

There will always be one mediator. At the end of the first period of time God found nobody who would pursue his heart. The grief he expressed is grief he carries with him to this day. Yet, the Lord always provides one who has favor in his eyes. Then he expresses through the one, hope for us all, until the one who would provide everlasting hope would come.

Good Writing

Good thoughts for writing sermons, as one who writes out every word he preaches.

http://theologica.blogspot.com/2009/06/good-writing-is-good-arguing.html

Building for Eternity

"Christ himself is the builder of his spiritual temple, and he has built it on the mountains of his unchangeable affection, his omnipotent grace, and his infallible truthfulness."~ Spurgeon

I have been building my own empire. I don't want to but in reality there are so many self motivations mixed with worship motivations that it can be difficult to tell the two apart. This is where the heart of Nehemiah guides me developing my own, because he didn't limit himself to working on the walls of Jerusalem, but he was working on the hearts of the people first and foremost. He kept his relationship with the Lord as the central focus and used the building of walls to display it. Today his prayer is my prayer.

And I said, “O Lord God of heaven,k the great and awesome God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, 6 l let your ear be attentive and your eyes open, to hear the prayer of your servant that I now pray before you day and night for the people of Israel your servants, m confessing the sins of the people of Israel, which we have sinned against you. Even n I and my father's house have sinned. 7 o We have acted very corruptly against you and have not kept the commandments, the statutes, and the rules p that you commanded your servant Moses.8 Remember the word that you commanded your servant Moses, saying, ‘If you are unfaithful, q I will scatter you among the peoples, 9 r but if you return to me and keep my commandments and do them, s though your outcasts are in the uttermost parts of heaven, from there I will gather them and bring them t to the place that I have chosen, to make my name dwell there.’ 10 u They are your servants and your people, whom you have redeemed by your great power and by your strong hand. 11 O Lord, l let your ear be attentive to the prayer of your servant, and to the prayer of your servants who delight to fear your name, and give success to your servant today, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man.”

Amen.

Twitter and the Process of Worship

I honestly thought this was a joke when I first saw it but I suppose it is a very real thing happening, not to different than sending text messages during a sermon. Joshua Harris and John Piper both contributed to the question: Should we use Twitter during sermons. You can read their individual thoughts by clicking there names.

No, Mr. President: John Piper's Response to President Obama on Abortion

This is what Barack Obama said that caused this response from John Piper.

Clayton's Story

Saw this on Between Two World's Blog. I liked it. Enjoy.